Entertainment Reviews/Editorials

Written by Kieron Behan

[kieronbehan]

Lucy Review

Lucy is one of this years most intriguing films as far as plot and story are concerned. For anyone that doesn't know, Lucy is a Sci-Fi movie based on the premise of, "what if we could use more than 10% of our brains". Similar theory to the movie, Limitless. Very different in execution.

  Lucy, played by Scarlett Johansson, is a thought-provoking and well designed character and Scarlett plays her well. Morgan Freemans character is also played well, if a bit one-dimensional. All in all, the acting holds up and I would consider it to be average to above average.

  By far the best part of this movie is the visual effects, just breathtaking. I won't say much for fear of spoilers but the last half of this movie has some of the most interesting and beautiful effects I have seen in a while.

  As far as the story goes, I'll say that it is a great concept, just maybe not executed perfectly. If you're a Sci-Fi nerd like me, then you may find some parts a little ridiculous and spot the occassional plot-hole here and there.

  So, in closing, Lucy is visually very impressive, an intriguing, if at times poorly executed, story and a film I would recommend checking out at least once if you enjoy a decent Sci Fi movie.

  7/10

  Written by Kieron Behan

(Review originally written for the Clydebank Post)

[kieronbehan]

Fault In Our Stars Review

When it comes time for people to start picking their top movies of 2014, I would be very surprised, and a little saddened, if The Fault In Our Stars is not ranked highly on everyones lists. I know that for me, it is definitely up there, maybe even taking the number one spot. I get that this is a bit of a presumptous thing to say, considering the year isn't over yet, but it's just that good.

It's very rare for a movie to make you feel such a vast range of emotions, most usually focus on evoking just a few. The Fault In Our Stars, however, is funny, sad, touching, brutally honest and even a little infuriating at times.

The two main actors in this movie, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, while still relatively unknown, played their respective characters extremely well and convincingly. The rest of the cast were also very impressive.

If you're going to watch this movie, I would recommend watching the Extended version as it pads out the characters a lot better and, in my opinion, makes the viewer feel a lot more invested in the characters and movie in general.

The last subject I would love to touch on is the soundtrack, which I found to compliment the film exceedingly well and also has one of my favourite songs of the year in it, namely Charli XCX's Boom Clap.

In closing, I would say this movie is definitely a must-see for 2014. One of the best, if not the best, movie I've seen this year. Go and see it, but I'll warn you, it may bring a tear or two to your eye by the end.

10/10

  Written by Kieron Behan

(Review originally written for the Clydebank Post)

[kieronbehan]

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For Review

Hard to say how to start this review... Hell, I don't think I ever really know how to start any review... Watched Sin City: A Dame To Kill For today. It was decent enough, nothing close to the first movie though... Na, it can't even hold a candle to it...

Guess they decided to change up the format a bit for this one, go with a more linear storytelling structure than the previous. Still not technically one single story, more like 3 intertwining stories that connect at points throughout, but it was told in one fluid motion rather than the way it was done in Sin City 1, where they split the stories into a series of short films.

That's not to say the story wasn't good, I just don't think that Sin City 1 really screamed out for a sequel, it ended perfectly the way it did. But with this one we get a look into the lives of the characters from the first in a bit more depth, some stories set before Sin City 1, some after.

They still decided to stick with that whole, black & white, "Film Noir" style, using color only to highlight things and for not-so-subtle symbolism, such as green eyes when a certain someone tries to control people with lust and envy.

Bruce Willis was also sorely lacking from this film, showing up only once or twice, which is understandable considering the first movie, I won't say more for fear of spoilers, but it was still a bit sad. Jessica Alba also making a re-appearance in this one, with a far more interesting and lengthier role.

So what can I really say about this movie, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For? Cheesy acting, cliched one-liners and plots, lots of "Max Payne-style" monologuing and seeming like it was trying to give itself credit for more depth than it actually had. I enjoyed it! Admittedly, not quite as much as the first, and having never read the graphic novels, I have no comparison to them, but for what it was, I found it fairly enjoyable, if dragging a little bit at points.

Sometimes cheesy acting improves a performance, sometimes cliched one-liners are exactly what is needed. The monologuing gets a little annoying at times but it's a useful storytelling device, if a bit overused in this movie.

Overall, I say it's worth a watch. If you liked Sin City 1, then you'll at least appreciate this one. But if you haven't seen the first, I would strongly recommend watching that one first as you may get lost at times if you don't.

7/10

Written By Kieron Behan

[kieronbehan]

22 Jump Street Review

This summer hasn't really been the best for movies, but there have been one or two that have risen above the rest in terms of pure entertainment value. One of these such movies was 22 Jump Street, a movie that is a parody of itself, bad sequels and crappy action movies.

The plot itself is fairly generic, which is kind of the point of the movie, but the jokes are hilarious and the delivery of them is near on perfect. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are both on top form during this movie, perhaps even better than they were in 21 Jump Street. It was also great to see Ice Cube getting a lot more screen time here as well, time to prove he can still be as bad ass and as funny as ever, in fact, his character in this did remind me a lot of how he played Craig in the Friday sequels.

I will say they did re-use a lot of jokes and comedy "bits" from the first movie, and I do get that this was intentional and meant to be funny, but some of it just felt kind of crammed in there at times and didn't really match the rest of the movie, I won't say too much on this for fear of spoilers, but I'm sure if you watch the movie or have already seen it, you know what parts I'm talking about.

I also feel obliged to point out that some of the secondary characters/actors were not that great, both in writing and execution. To name one group of these characters, I would say the new "Interns" at Jump Street, but there are other examples, scattered throughout the film.

Aside from these two minor complaints though, I will say, if you are looking for a bit of light-hearted entertainment, and enjoyed the first movie, 21 Jump Street, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as much as I did. I Wouldn't really call it a "multiple-watches" movie, but I could see myself watching it again at some point in maybe like a year or so, if I'm bored and want a laugh.

So, in closing, I say give it a shot, you may be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

7.5/10

Written By Kieron Behan